GABAA receptors display association of gamma 2-subunit with alpha 1- and beta 2/3-subunits

Recombinant GABAA (gamma-aminobutyrate-Type A) receptors that are sensitive to benzodiazepine receptor ligands can be generated by coexpression of alpha-, beta-, and gamma 2-subunit cDNAs (Pritchett, D. B., Sontheimer, H., Shivers, B. D., Ymer S., Kettenmann, H., Schofield, P. R., and Seeburg, P. H. (1989) Nature 338, 582-585; Pritchett, D. B., Lüddens, H., and Seeburg, P. H. (1989) Science 245, 1389-1392; Malherbe, P., Sigel, E., Baur, R., Perssohn, E., Richards, J. G., and Mohler, H. (1990) J. Neurosci. 10, 2330-2337). However, in brain tissue, only alpha- and beta-subunit proteins have so far been detected. To identify the size and distribution of the gamma 2-subunit protein in brain tissue, polyclonal antibodies were prepared against two synthetic peptides corresponding to amino acids 1-15 and 336-350 of the cDNA-derived rat gamma 2-subunit sequence. On Western blots, both anti-gamma 2-subunit antisera selectively labeled a 43-kDa protein. gamma 2-Subunit immunoreactivity was detected immunohistochemically in various brain regions, e.g. in the olfactory bulb, cerebral cortex, islands of Calleja, hippocampus, substantia nigra, and cerebellum. Immunoprecipitation with both antisera identified the gamma 2-subunit immunoreactivity in 40 and 50% of the native GABAA receptors purified from bovine and rat brains, respectively. Monoclonal antibody bd24 selectively recognizes the alpha 1-subunit, whereas bd17 recognizes both the beta 2- and beta 3-subunits (Ewert, M., Shivers, B. D., Lüddens, H., Mohler, H., and Seeburg, P. H. (1990) J. Cell Biol. 110, 2043-2048). Since either of these monoclonal antibodies (bd17 and bd24) precipitated approximately 90% of the GABAA receptors, the gamma 2-subunit is frequently associated with the alpha 1-subunit and the beta 2- and/or beta 3-subunit in vivo.